Modern society relies heavily on analog text-based information to transfer and record knowledge. For a large number of people, however, the act of reading can be daunting if not impossible. Such people include those with learning disabilities (LD), blindness, and other visual impairments arising from diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and glaucoma, etc.
Recent studies indicate that at least one in twenty has dyslexia, a common form of LD and at least one in ten is affected with other forms of LD that limit a person's ability to read or write symbols. LDs are genetic neurophysiological differences that affect a person's ability to perform linguistic tasks such as reading and spelling. The disability can exhibit different symptoms with varying degrees of severity in different individuals. The precise cause or pathophysiology of LDs such as dyslexia remains a matter of contention and, to date, no treatment to reverse the condition fully has been found. Typically, individuals with LD are placed in remedial programs directed to modifying learning in an attempt to help such individuals read in a conventional manner. While early diagnosis is key to helping LD individuals succeed, the lack of systematic testing for the disability leaves the condition undetected in many adults and children. For the most part, modern approaches to LD have been taken from an educational standpoint, in the hopes of forcing LD-affected people to learn as others do. Such approaches have had mixed results because LD is physiologically-based. Sheer will or determination is not enough to rewire the brain and level the playing field. The disclosed embodiments address this problem by providing an alternative approach to assisting LD-affected individuals.
In addition to the LD population, there is a large and growing population of people with poor or no vision. Many of these are elderly people and the affected populations will increase in the next twenty years as Baby Boomers reach their 70s and beyond. According to the National Institutes of Health (2004), many individuals have conditions that either impair or threaten to impair vision, e.g., diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, advanced or intermediate AMD, and glaucoma. See table below for statistics. Additionally, 3.3 million people are blind or have low vision from other causes. The inability to read or reading suffered by these groups can have a devastating impact on these individuals' daily life. For example, difficulties in reading can interfere with performance of simple tasks and activities, and deprive affected individuals of access to important text-based information, independence, and associated self-respect. As such, there is a need for technology that can help the LD population gain ready access to text-based information.
DiabeticInter-Reti-AdvancedmediatenopathyCataractAMDAMDGlaucomaNumber4,725,22020,475,0001,749,0007,311,0002,218,000Affected
The disclosed embodiments are designed to meet at least some of the needs of LD populations and of populations with low or no vision.